1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer devices such as servers and storage or positioning of such computer devices in storage racks and, in particular, to a mounting or guide assembly for use with a rack rail or inner rail of a computer or server chassis to facilitate positioning or alignment of the rack rail or inner rail with a receiving portion, e.g., a middle or outer member or rail, of a storage rack. In some cases, a rail kit is provided that provides magnetic, self-aligning between an inner rail and a middle rail, which may be extended outward from an outer rail of the rack kit during installation of a server or other computing device in a storage rack.
2. Relevant Background
Servers and other computer devices are often stored in cabinets or racks. Each of these cabinets or racks may contain numerous servers in a stacked or side-by-side arrangement. For example, a server cabinet may house 5 to 10 servers behind each door. It is desirable for each server to be installed and/or serviced without affecting operation of the other servers, and, in many cases, it is desirable for each server to be maintained or accessed without disconnecting it from power or communications/network links (e.g., to provide hot swappable and maintainable servers in an enterprise or data center environment).
To this end, each server is typically mounted within the cabinet or storage rack using a rail or slide kit. In a typical rail kit, a pair of outer members or rails is attached to the storage rack frame and to extend horizontally to define a server mounting location within the storage rack or cabinet. Each outer rail is mated with or interconnected with a middle rail or middle member of the rail kit. The middle rail often will be supported within the inner channel or grooves of the outer rail, and the middle rail may be positioned by sliding within the outer rail from a retracted position to an extended position. In the extended position, the middle rail typically extends outward from the end of the outer rail several inches to a foot or more to allow access to an attached or supported server. In the retracted position, the middle rail has its outer end positioned within the outer rail.
To mount a server in the rack, a pair of inner or rack rails is attached to an outer surface of a server (or other computer device) chassis, and each of the inner or rack rails is coupled with or interconnected with a corresponding one of the middle members or rails. Generally, a server is mounted within the server storage rack by extending out the middle rail, then aligning the ends of both of the inner or rack rails on the server chassis with the ends of the middle rails, and, once proper alignment is achieved on both sides, pushing on the server chassis to cause the inner rails or racks to mate or couple with the middle members or rails (e.g., in a tongue-and-groove manner) as the inner rails slide within channels or grooves of the middle member or rails. Continued pushing then causes the middle member or rail to slide within the outer rail or member from the extended position to the retracted position, which allows the storage rack door to be closed. Within the storage rack a cable management arm (CMA) or similar device is typically pivotally or slidably mounted on the outer rail or member.
During installation, a CMA retainer or clasp on the end of the inner rail may be coupled with a connector or clasp on the CMA, e.g., when the server is first pushed inward into the cabinet or rack. Power and communication cables are then fed through supports or cable guides on the CMA and attached to the back of the server. When maintenance or access to the server is desired, the server may be pulled out of the rack with the middle rail or member sliding within or on the outer rail or member of the rail kit. The inner or rack rail affixed to the server chassis slides within or on the middle rail or member, which causes the attached cable supported by the CMA to follow the server within the storage rack without requiring disconnection.
A number of issues can work alone or together to make installation of a server in existing storage racks difficult and even unsafe. Servers are often relatively heavy sometimes weighing up to 65 pounds or more. As a result, it is often a challenge for a technician to support the weight of the server while also trying to align the ends of the inner rails with the receiving channels or grooves of the middle rails. In practice, proper alignment is only achieved if the technician is able to hold the server relatively level without side-to-side rotation. This is further problematic as the middle rails may not both be extended the same amount and may move during alignment (e.g., toward the rack or side-to-side).
Alignment has become increasingly difficult as rail designs have become thinner such that the receiving channel of the middle rail is not as deep and, likewise the mating walls or portions of the inner rail are not as large. Compact rails are desirable to reduce the size of the rack and increase the number of servers that can be positioned within a particular space or volume, but thinner rail cross-sectional areas make alignment and engagement between the inner rail and middle rail more difficult. Alignment and engagement of these two rails may be critical for proper installation, and failure to obtain this alignment and then engagement may result in damage to the server and a safety hazard to the installing technician. For example, a technician that is installing a server in a storage rack may believe they have aligned the ends of the inner rail and the middle rail and obtained adequate engagement between the rails. However, this may be hard or impossible to verify such as when the CMA retainer at the end of the inner rail blocks the technician's view of the middle rail. If alignment and engagement is not achieved and the technician stops supporting the server, the server likely will fall out of the storage rack causing damage to the server and potentially injuring the technician with its weight of 65 pounds or more and often sharp metal edges.
Hence, there is a demand for improved devices and methods for installing or mounting servers or other computer devices in storage racks. Preferably, such mounting devices would facilitate proper alignment of the inner rails on the server chassis with the middle rails of the storage rack and such alignment would be relatively simple to detect or verify and would be concurrent for both sides of the chassis. In some cases, it is also preferable for the mounting device to support positioning of a CMA retainer or other device for coupling the server chassis with a CMA associated with the installed server.